Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade on Wednesday denounced measures at the global level which contribute to make poverty more widespread.

He spoke against the decision of the "oil oligopoly" to let the prices of oil in crease, against all economic rationale, with the result of making African economies precarious.

President Wade, speaking in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, at the opening of the 44th assembly of the African Development Bank (AfDB), said this situation had led to an increase in the prices of agricultural products.

He described the action of oil producers as "a disastrous decision for developing countries, which in turn brought about increased poverty".

Another measure decried by the Senegalese president is subsidies on agricultural products by rich countries, asking: "How can you compete with subsidized products?"

President Wade denounced the “double standards” applied by the Bretton Woods institutions saying: "We are not free to protect ourselves, for the World Bank and the IMF forbid us to do so. Developed countries are left to do as they please, but at least we should be given a chance to protect our agricultural products.”

The Senegalese president also criticised the quota system within the multilateral financing institutions based on the financial capacities of states and proposed that poor countries benefit from measures such as compensation for their low capacities.

President Wade did not miss out on African leaders with the target being the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). A lot of money has been spent for nothing, he said, adding that the problem of NEPAD can be compared to “a Mercedes without a good driver".

The Senegalese president said the fundamentals were well in place and what was needed was a good pilot for the situation to evolve positively.

He expressed the hope that the new Executive Secretary of NEPAD, Ibrahim Mayaki, is going to apply the NEPAD programme which has been was transferred to the African Union Commission.

President Wade said the continent would only improve by bringing African countries into a single country.

"As long as we work separately, we will achieve nothing," he declared, saying the solution lies in the establishment of a United States of Africa.

Dakar - 13/05/2009